


Falling Damage

by SophusMao



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Crushes, Dead Rams Grove, F/M, Fluff and Smut, I'm Bad At Tagging, Overprotective companions making sure their Inquisitor is doing okay, Romance, Sudden Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 11:34:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11417091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophusMao/pseuds/SophusMao
Summary: When returning to camp, Nara Lavellan takes a tumble and busts her ankle. With no healers and no elfroot, it's decided she stay the night in the woods with The Iron Bull for protection...





	Falling Damage

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya  
> I first wrote this back in 2015 shortly after I had completed Inquisition and put it up on ff.net.
> 
> I’ve edited it as best I could and decided to post it on here (which I’ll be doing with my other stories on the other site)
> 
> Hope everyone likes it :)
> 
> Not beta'd

The Hinterlands were a beautiful place, even with the surplus of demons and the occasional dead body littering its rolling grassy fields. The lakes and streams and rivers were refreshing, icy cold, and clear. Fish swam their depths beneath the dappled shadows of the many leafy, full trees, and various amphibians hid among the masses of Blood Lotus and Spindleweed patches. Rams grazed lazily and small Fennec frolicked, digging for worms and larger insects to fill their bellies with.

Nara Lavellan stood before the remains of a wraith at Dead Rams Grove, the thing had had the nerve to appear after she had placed a bundle of Felandaris beneath a tree at the behest from one dead lover to another. She doubted either would ever return here, to their secret place, but the dead can have desires too. Desires Lavellan wished to fulfil, lest the dead return restless.  
She looked around her at the beauty of the Grove, an abandoned and forgotten statue, old tall trees giving everything a greenish hue, the water, and the high natural walls around it all. It truly was a precious secret place. And they had come in and bloodied its ground and soiled its peace. No matter, they would have fresh pelts and meat to be going on with after the skinning of the black wolves was complete.

She watched her companions go about their various duties. Sera: a young elf woman, funny and sharp but too quick to become overly defensive about her beliefs and opinions, was filling the water skins from the clear stream below them. Dorian: the Tevinter mage, beautifully flamboyant in both appearance and nature, a trait reflected in his destructive magics, was gathering whichever herbs they required that were around. And Iron Bull: a deadly and destructive qunari mercenary was skinning the dead animals before him and packing it away.

All the while, Nara kept a silent watch over them all, nimble fingers rolling her staff and sharp eyes watching both entrances to the Grove. It wouldn't be long before they were ready to move on a return to camp, their supplies were running low and the sun was in its final decent.

She waited patiently as the shadows got longer, Sera was attempting to coax a Fennec to her but her high pitched coos of adoration scared the creature further away making her pout and sit back on her haunches.

"How much longer," She looked up toward Nara with expectant large eyes beneath the lopsided blonde fringe "We'll have to be getting back to the camp soon, yeah?"

"I agree, it's a good few hours trek to the camp, I would rather not venture it in the dark." Dorian twirled his moustache and glanced at the purpling sky.

"What? You scared of the dark now as well as spiders?" Sera rose to the opportunity to irritate the mage, delighting in making a high born feel uncomfortable.

"I am not scared of spiders or the dark, you belligerent urchin."

"Ooh, name calling now is it, yeah? Alright, you got your lordybloomers in a twist today?" she grinned, hoping Dorian would take the bait.

"What even are lordybloomers you great oaf?" He crossed his arms, defensive and waiting.

"It's what you're wearing, are your balls really that blue to need sooo much space?"

Dorian spluttered and Nara turned her face away with a blush and a grin. Sera really did have a way with words.

"Why are you so childish Sera?" He asked, or more pleaded.

"Why are you such a skid mark?"

Electric passed between the two of them and just as Nara began to step forward to call peace; Iron Bull spoke up from his work.

"Almost done! You two can shut your loud face holes now…" He began packing the skins and any suitable meat away in the pack that hung from his hips. Then he stood and gathered up his great axe, swinging it over his head and bringing it to rest on his broad shoulders. He cut an impressive silhouette standing there like that with his great horns accentuating the slight tilt to his head.

Nara nodded "Excellent, now we can leave…"

"Yes, your lady bits!" Sera bowed and spun on one foot, leading the way down the stream and toward the nearest main camp nestled on the edge of the farms. Dorian shook his head and followed at a slower, much more dignified pace, Iron Bull catching him up and striking up a conversation about dragons and if they had any in Tevinter.

Just as she began to step of the ledge that over looked her team below her, it shook. A crack resounded around the Grove and the rock became loose. Her foot slipped and she skidded down the slight incline with the rocks and dislodged dirt. It wasn't a very great fall, but the commotion of the debris made it worse. Small pebbles smacked her face and hands, her ankle twisted as she attempted to gain footing. And then she was at the edge of the stream, pain pumping up and down her leg, abrasions stinging, and a small trickle of blood getting in her eye.

"Boss!"

The three of them ran over and stood around her, waiting for her to stand and laugh it off as she normally would. This wasn't the first time she had fallen, and there had been times when she would have been one of those stood around a teammate who had stumbled, it wouldn't be the last. But this time it had really hurt, a dizziness swept over her and her eyes fluttered at the various pains.

Dorian looked worried and began digging through his pack for an elfroot potion, the first to realise that this wasn't a regular fall. He came up empty. "Does anyone have any elfroot?"

Iron Bull and Sera, dug into their packs but came up empty, shaking their hands and looking around uselessly.

"We could carry her, yeah?" Sera looked pointedly at Iron Bull who seemed to give it some thought before murmuring a negative.

"It might do her more harm? Without Solas, we can't know how extensive her injuries are." Solas boasted impressive powers of healing and rejuvenation, his hold on spirit magic a direct bonus from his trips to the Fade.

Dorian lifted his hand to his face and began curling his moustache around one finger, furrowing his brow and thinking quickly "We'll have to split up, two of us will travel to the nearest camp, and the other will stay here with Nara. We can't leave her alone and we shouldn't carry her, but we need the elfroot. We don’t have the equipment to concoct a potion from any growing around here." He gestured to the few elfroot plants that he had already gathered leaves from.

"I'll stay." Sera looked around with purpose, searching for a safe place to build a temporary camp.

"No, Sera. We should leave Bull here." Dorian waited for an argument from the city elf but none came, the gravity of the situation sobering her usual levity. "He's stronger and more likely to be able to defend if a large group attacks whilst we're gone."

Iron Bull nodded "Fair enough." He gently hooked his hands beneath Nara's knees and the top of her back, lifting her to his chest and walking carefully up a slope toward the shelter the old trees provided. He lay her down beneath one and helped the others prepare the area for the hopefully short stay. A small fire was made and the new pelts lay beside them to dry before they started to stink.

Nara watched all this with quiet contemplation; between the three of them they should be able to carry her back, though they would be slow and vulnerable. She could attempt to walk but judging from the sharp pains in her ankle and the dizziness, they would again be slow and vulnerable. The growing darkness would bring out larger and bolder groups of bandits, nocturnal predators, and hide knobs and holes in the ground, risking more falls and injuries. No, it was best for her to hide with Iron Bull and allow Dorian and Sera to make it back to camp before complete nightfall and come back at first light with elfroot and maybe a mount.

"Dorian" She said firmly. The three of them turned away from the fire and looked at their leader with furrowed brows "Leave with Sera now. Get to camp before nightfall and return at first light with supplies and horses."

"But-"

"Do not risk yourselves and return before then. Two of you alone will not be able to defend against a group of Templars or bears." She forced herself into a seated position, her back resting on the trunk of one of the many trees. "Then we can return to Skyhold and restock properly and rest for a few days."

"Maybe it would be wise to leave Sera here as well. Extra support should you be attacked."

"What? And leave you to run back to camp in the twilight alone? Sir lordypants will be squished by a moth" Sera laughed and began to make her way down the slope and toward the farmsteads, leaving Dorian to nod and catch up quickly.

Nara listened to their splashing as they crossed the stream and the chirrup of a Fennec they disturbed from its nest.

Bull stared into the burning embers of the fire as he turned the meat; the sizzle was satisfying and made him grin as he lay it back down onto the hot rocks he had arranged to cook their supper.

Sometimes, you have to enjoy the little things.

And he truly did. Whether it was taking a glance out at some new and amazing scenery as they travelled or listening to the bickering and banter of his new friends, he did try to enjoy the little things. And the big things. Big things like the dragons they had seen, amazing monsters that poured out of the rifts, magic.

Being raised as a Qun, magic had always been a greyish area to him. The mages in his culture were bound and leashed like animals, mouths sewn shut and their horns sawed away. He shuddered and let his thumb trail the beginning of his own horns; he wouldn't be the same without them he knew. But the mages he worked with now, his friends, the things they could do! The four of them would sometimes gather in the courtyard at Skyhold and practise, throwing fireballs and deadly shards of ice at each other to let them work on their defences. It was truly something to behold, but his favourite part of their magicks was when they simply sat together and manipulated their favourite elements. Dorian would laugh as he'd melt a little snow ball that Vivienne had made and she would pout and call him a brute, Solas would use his knowledge of spirit magic and combine it with the little lights Nara would make with electricity.

Nara's magic was his favourite. Blue lightning would light up her face as she manipulated it through her staff, yellowish eyes narrowed as she threw it away from her leaving only small cracklings behind that would hop around her arms. Her arms were toned from using a staff, lithe muscle would twitch as she moved around, climbed, and tie her long hair away. Black hair that reached her hips and brushed the floor when she'd sit crossed legged, short legs overlapping and tucking in small feet. The rug she had sat on had a little wet patch from when she had spilt the beer that time-

"You'll burn it." A little hand pulled the cooked meat away from the fire as its owner sat beside him "Deep thoughts?" She dug him with an elbow and began to eat.

"Not really," He shrugged and began to eat his share "Just thinking about that dragon hiding out around here somewhere…"

He watched her from the corner of his eye. There was a little matting in her hair from the dried bit of blood and a small graze on her chin, but she hadn't fallen asleep again and her eyes were bright at the thought of dragons. The fall hadn't been as bad as they originally thought, though her ankle still needed some attention.

"Hmm, I heard it was a fire breather. We'd need Vivienne for it and maybe Blackwall for the extra muscle?" She chewed thoughtfully as her tactics played out inside her head. "I'd say Casandra but she has so much on her plate already."

"Yeah, but I'm sure she wouldn't pass up a fight with a dragon."

"You know she's killed one before?" Her eyes were on him now as she brushed the grease from her fingers onto the grass.

"Oh, really?" He found it hard to believe but he would entertain the thought if it meant she would keep looking at him like that.

"A kitchen worker told me about it. Apparently, there were four attacking the Divine and she jumped on ones back and killed it." The story played behind her eyes, her seriousness melting away at the prospect of adventure "and a high dragon."

"What? You believe everything someone tells you?" He laughed and leaned back on his elbows, admiring her silhouette in the flames.

"It's how she was named Hero of Orlais…I think." She paused and thought for a moment "I'll ask her when we return to Skyhold."

"That's probably best, rumours and gossip can lead to trouble." He stroked his chin and frowned at her.

"Is that you trying to be wise?"

"Trying?"

Her little fist hit his leg as she laughed at him before going to her hair and pulling out the pin that kept it up, her hair fell down her back and she shook it free. "So, what are we supposed to do all night? I don't like the thought of sleeping in shifts after all the running from today."

Bull looked around, listening to the area around him "I think we're isolated enough for us both to sleep, unless you're afraid of waking up to a fuzzy ram trying to eat your hair?"

"It wouldn't be the first time…" A lock of her hair found its way into her fingers and wound a pattern around the tips.

"A ram has eaten your hair before then?" He made a bold move and let his fingers brush the hair that was on the ground beside her leg, she glanced at them but didn't brush them away.

"I lived in the wild, Bull, many things have been in my hair."

He let out a small laugh and continued to let his fingers brush the tips of the hair, getting bolder by the second, winding the strands between his knuckles and letting it fall through like rain. Nara watched him and dragged all her hair to one side and lay down so he had more to play with. His fingers searched through the tresses, getting closer and closer to her head without being told too and leaving little knots and half-done plaits behind. Then his fingers were on her scalp, dragging the hair away with scratching nails making her eyes flutter close and a small grin pull at the corner of her lips.

He massaged her head until the fire had burnt down to near embers, only small flames licked at the wood trying to stay alive. The quiet was long but comfortable; listening to the howls and chirrups of the nocturnal wildlife was conversation enough. And as a general sleepiness washed over him, he let his hand fall, lying down beside Nara, his long horns passing over the top of her head.

"Bull?" Her sleepy voice made him jump a little, the magic of the silence broken but made better by her.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think that we make the right decisions?"

"How do you mean?" He felt her shift and opened his one eye to see her leaning on one elbow and looking at him through the darkness.

"With the leading of the Inquisition…all these people following us, I wonder if we're making the right choices for them."

He thought about it for a moment and believed they were doing well, but the hardships of leadership were obviously pressing on her. "Nara, my people don't pick leaders from the strongest, or the smartest, or even the most talented. We pick the ones willing to make the hard decisions... and live with the consequences." She was quiet then and the silence stretched on again, heavy and strained to him, the sounds of the wild feeling more harrowing than peaceful. Or maybe it's just you? Worrying about what one small elf thinks-

"Thank you," And a warm feeling was on his cheek, soft hair brushing his forehead and a small breath warming his skin as she pecked him. She moved away and he felt the cold of the night more acutely and how uncomfortable his skin was without her hair soothing it. He wanted more.

He lifted his arm and felt for her face, his rough fingers brushed her cheek and he felt her lean into his palm. He felt the points of her ears, always hidden away, the curve of her neck as he cupped the back of her head and pulled the two of them together.

He brushed their lips together and her stillness spoke volumes, she didn't want this. He moved away, turning toward the fire in an attempt to bring normality back and poke some warmth back around himself, the sudden cold slowly becoming unbearable. She sat still but he knew she was watching him, not saying a word and barely breathing.

"Sorry," He muttered. Not that he was sorry for the brief, pleasant, and then awkward kiss, but he was sorry for ruining their companionable silence and comfortable isolation.

"Don't be." She said it firmly and he heard her move.

She crawled and sat beside him, small fingers gently pulling his chin and turning his face to hers. She kissed him, moulding her mouth to his; soft lips covering his scarred and cracked ones. They moved together, a little awkwardly at first but then falling into a calm rhythm, the wet sounds and warm breath filled the small space between them.

Large hands held onto a small back and small hands gripped large scarred shoulders as Nara ended up in the lap of the Iron Bull. Their mouths opened and he slid his tongue over hers, a moan escaped from her throat with a small quiver down her spine making him grin and pull her closer, one hand slipping down her back and onto her hips. The slight curve there rocked against him, pressing her stomach against his broad chest through her armour.

He became suddenly irritated by the layers of clothing between them, pulling away slightly and finding the buckle at his shoulder that held his bracer on. His large fingers were not quite nimble enough to do this one handed so Nara batted his hand away and did it herself, small quick fingers unclasping the buckle and letting the shoulder plate and bracer come loose. She turned her attention to her own armour, undoing the knots in her mage robes and letting the laces fall away.

Her shoulders slipped out first, pale and freckled with the sun. He traced the curve of her neck and over the little dots, joining them up as he helped pull the fabric down her arms. Her torso above the breast band there was also freckled, dancing over the tops of her breasts and disappearing round her back. The robe fell away completely, revealing her stomach, small waisted and soft with small lines from where she had been sat up. He trailed a finger over it and stopped at her belly button, leaning in to kiss her again and pull her close to feel the sensation of their skin touching properly. Her breasts pressed against his collar bone and her stomach rolled against his chest. He ran his hands up her back and began untucking the breast band, letting the fabric come away as she swept his lips with her tongue.

He flipped her onto her back on the wolf fur, cursing his boots and pants with their many buckles and fasteners. Nara kicked her own boots off and slipped her fingers beneath her underclothes and dragging them away with the leather pants she wore. He stopped and looked at her fully revealed flesh. Her narrow hips were also freckled, framing the soft dark hair that grew between her short but shapely  legs.

"Touch me." She breathed.

He grinned at her words as he finally threw his remaining clothes to the side, revealing scarred skin over taught muscle and a member that was full of blood and hard. He ran his hands from her ankles up to her hips, massaging her highs and teasing the insides of them with his thumbs. She gasped in pleasure as he leant over her, breath warming the short fuzz that hid her core. As his face got closer to her skin, his hands roamed upwards and over her breast, grazing her nipples with the callouses on his palms.

She quivered and squirmed, letting out little breaths of pleasure and moaning loud when he flicked his tongue out and between the lips that covered her clit, teasing the little bud with quick flicks and wetness. Her moaning came louder and more desperate with each lick but he wouldn't let her finish this way.

He rolled onto his back and pulled her atop him. She straddled his hips, rubbing herself along his length, the wetness of her and his pre-cum mixing and coating them. Her face was flushed as she rocked, her small breasts bouncing slightly from the motion and her hips creating enticing circles in his hands.

He groaned when he felt how hard he was against her and he wanted in. She was lost in creating her own pleasure against him as she continued to rub herself along him. He started bucking his hips, creating more pressure and friction and making her bottom lip find its way between her teeth. He lifted her and positioned himself at her entrance, she was small and he knew it was going to be tight. The thought only excited him as he began to push his way in; she gasped and gripped his arms, digging her nails in at the feeling of being so full. Her insides coated him snuggly, pulling at him with a hot wetness until he was fully sheathed and she settled back onto his hips. He groaned at the feeling of being inside her. So tight and warm and wet.

She began to move against him, "Don't stop, please," she moaned, enjoying the feeling of being stretched and filled by him. He was too big for her they knew, but it felt good all the same. His hips rolled with hers, his dick pumping in and out of her, filling her over and over again and brushing the nerves in her walls hard. She panted and cried out with each thrust, bouncing up and down on him and using his forearms as leverage, leaving behind little scratches.

She was too tight and her noises were pushing him too close to the edge too quickly. He stopped her and lifted her away, making her rest on her hands and knees. He needed to control this more, so as he knelt behind her, he grabbed her hips and pulled her onto him slowly. Her quivering turned into gasps as he went in deep, her arms giving out and making her rest her face in the furs. Her bum was in the air and Bull enjoyed the view as he watched himself go in and out of her, his large hands holding onto her hips and cheeks, forcing them apart. He grinned and let his thumb brush her hole there and smiled as she moaned at the new feeling.

He picked up the pace, crashing into her fast and hard, making her moan loudly and drown out the sounds of nature around them. One hand on her bum with his thumb toying with her there and the other finding its way around to her front and rubbing at her clit, she got louder and tighter. Her insides hugged his prick and made her all the more tight, a warm coil filling his lower abdomen as he rushed the both of them to orgasm.

A new hot wetness coated him as she came, her body shaking with its force and her voice falling silent as she rid it out, bathed in its glow. He felt his own orgasm come around and pulled out of her quickly, the sensation and her gasp making him spill his seed over her arse and lower back. She fell forward and he pushed himself onto his back next to her, both of them breathing hard and feeling sleepy as the euphoria began to fade.

He glanced at his elf beside him, her yellow eyes watched him back with the simple happiness that came after sex. He slid his arm beneath her head and pulled her toward him, letting her face rest in the hollow of his shoulder.

"We should do that more often, hmm?" He rumbled as he felt her relax against him, their nakedness open to the stars above them.

"Hmm." She muttered as she drifted to sleep.


End file.
